Tennis News

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – If Caroline Wozniacki scores just one more victory at the Volvo Car Open and defeats World No.66 Jelena Ostapenko, she’ll be rewarded with more than just a spot in the Charleston semifinals: she’ll be projected to break back into the Top 10 when the new WTA rankings come out, a happy ending to what has been an absolute rollercoaster last few years.

Wozniacki got her first taste of the Top 10 back in 2009, and has been a mainstay at the top of the rankings for the majority of her career – including a stint at World No.1, a ranking she held for 67 weeks.

In fact, from 2009 to 2014 she finished each year inside the Top 10, and her six year run had been the WTA’s longest active streak.  

But a struggle with injuries and recovery derailed the Dane’s progress, causing her ranking to plummet to as low as No.74 during the 2016 US Open.

It was during that US Open fortnight that Wozniacki’s comeback came together; she entered the tournament unseeded and went on to reach the semifinals, knocking out the likes of Svetlana Kuznetsova and Madison Keys along the way.

Once she got going, Wozniacki never looked back, and in the 14 events since her ranking dipped to No.74, she’s put together a stunning run which includes titles at the 2016 Toray Pan Pacific Open and the Prudential Hong Kong Tennis Open, runner-up finishes at the 2017 Qatar Total Open, Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Miami Open, and a semifinal finish at the US Open.

She’s reached the quarterfinals or better at 11 of her last 14 events and now, by virtue of her incredible consistency, Wozniacki sits one win away from a return to her beloved Top 10 – the first time she’ll be there since September 21, 2015.

It won’t be easy with Latvian teenager Ostapenko standing in her way; Wozniacki lost in straight sets the only previous match they’ve played at last year’s Connecticut Open. And due to extreme weather conditions in Charleston, Wozniacki found herself having to double up and play two matches on the same day to reach the quarterfinals.

“I think I’m well-prepared for tomorrow,” Wozniacki said after her win against Anastasia Rodionova. “I got some clay tennis in today and feel like I’m just going to go out there and have fun and do my best and see how it goes.

“I’m just playing right now. I had one practice session before the tournament started for me, and that was it. I just kind of run on experience and try and figure it out.”

CHARLESTON, SC, USA – 19-year-old Jelena Ostapenko stunned No.11 seed Mirjana Lucic-Baroni in three sets to reach the final at the Volvo Car Open, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4.

With the victory Ostapenko is through to her third career final – and her first on clay – where he’ll face fellow-19-year-old Daria Kasatkina.

“It’s really nice to be in the third final, but first final on clay court, and especially here in Charleston,” Ostapenko told press after the match. “I’m really looking forward for tomorrow’s match.

“[Daria] kind of defensive player, and I think clay is her favorite surface, but I’m just going to try to stay consistent and be aggressive at the same time and just play my game.”

We're going three!

Mirjana Lucic-Baroni battles back to force a decider over Ostapenko 3-6, 7-5! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/2g3oMKIpc5

— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017

Just one point made the difference between Ostapenko and Lucic-Baroni during the tense, two-hour-and-seven-minute encounter. The Latvian employed her aggressive, fearless tennis against Lucic-Baroni, changing the direction in the ball and keeping her opponent on the run with her heavy groundstrokes.

Ostapenko was serving for the match at 5-4 in the second, but Lucic-Baroni had other ideas and the Croat put together a mammoth struggle to deny Ostapenko and break her serve.

Jelena Ostapenko edges Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 5-7, 6-4!

Sets All-Teen @VolvoCarOpen Final vs @DKasatkina! #VolvoCarOpen pic.twitter.com/ugpZVK2IAh

— WTA (@WTA) 8 de abril de 2017

She unleashed a barrage of winners against the Latvian, who had no response as Lucic-Baroni grabbed the next two games to take the match into a decider. But Ostapenko tamped down her nerves in the third and found her calm to make her way into her first final of 2017.

“I actually was quite emotional in the second set when I was 5-3 up and I couldn’t finish the set, but she liked when I was emotional,” Ostapenko admitted. “It kind of gave her confidence till then.

“In the third set I was just trying to be calm because I think it was tougher for her because I didn’t show any emotions, and it helped me, so I won the third set.”

NEW YORK, NY, USA – Garbiñe Muguruza has had a season already defined by a breakthrough victory at the French Open, but inconsistencies elsewhere make the No.3 seed seem like something of an enigmatic factor – especially at the US Open, where she has won just one main draw match.

But the Spaniard cheerfully preached optimism at her pre-tournament press conference, emphasizing the importance of leaving last week’s disappointments behind her as she heads into the final Grand Slam of the season.

“Last year was a little bit tougher,” she said of her second round loss to future Top 10 contender Johanna Konta, “but I’m always positive when I go to a tournament. I always have, like, a new mindset. I’ve a new opportunity, and it’s a Grand Slam. I’m excited here. I love Grand Slams. I love New York. I’m looking forward to start and see what happens.”

It’s a mantra Muguruza has developed over time as she’s matured from the upstart youngster who stunned Serena Williams in the second round of Roland Garros to the seasoned champion two years later.

“More and more, it becomes clear that the Grand Slams are the tournaments where you have to kind of perform your best – or at least try. So when a Grand Slam is coming, you feel that you have to be more prepared. That’s the tournament.

“When you are younger, all the tournaments are like more equal or you’re more happy. Sometimes you really don’t know where you’re playing.

“Now over the years you realize, Hey, that’s the tournament I’ve got to be ready and hopefully win.”

Her two major finals have come on clay and grass, but the World No.3 is more than capable on hardcourts, taking impressive results from the Asian swing into a thunderous debut at the BNP Paribas WTA Finals Singapore presented by SC Global. The next step for the Spaniard is to avoid the sort of lull in form seen at Wimbledon, where she fell in the second round to Jana Cepelova.

“When I went to play that match I felt, like, exhausted. Like I woke up that day like, ‘I have to play a match today. I feel tired.’ I think I learned more how to recover and concentrate my energy.

“Those matches are important ones, you know? Maybe I trained too much before or didn’t rest enough, or, I don’t know, there is something not balanced there that week.”

Balance will be key in dealing with the City That Never Sleeps, and the unrelenting traffic experienced by the players who opt to stay in the heart of the Big Apple.

“There is always traffic. There is always noise, people. I don’t know. Everything takes a lot of energy. It’s so crazy and they’ll say, ‘No, this is two blocks only!’

“I have to concentrate on time to rest, time for this, time for that – just schedule everything well. Priority is always to be rested so when you take a racquet, you know, you have energy to perform.”

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil – Sorana Cirstea survived a rainy quarterfinals afternoon, continuing her road back from injury with a dominant 6-1, 6-2 win over No.3 seed Danka Kovinic and earning a spot into her first WTA semifinal since 2013.

The win is a big milestone for Cirstea, who is playing in her first WTA main draw matches since last summer in Bucharest.

“I´ve been injured for one year and a half, so to come back and play three matches and be fit and healthy is the most important for me,” Cirstea said after the win. “After you come back from an injury you start realizing how lucky you are when you are pain-free and you enjoy more tennis.”

Up next for the Romanian is the resurgent Shelby Rogers, who dashed Brazil’s hopes of a home champion when she ousted qualifier Paula Goncalves 6-2, 5-7, 6-3.

“It´s going to be the first time I face Shelby, unfortunately I don´t know her very much,” Cirstea said of the semifinal matchup. “We haven´t even practiced together. It´s going to be a tough match and I´m going to try to focus on my side of the court.”

On the other side of the draw, Francesca Schiavone emerged victorious after a two-and-a-half-hour encounter against Cindy Burger 3-6, 7-6(6), 6-3. The Dutch qualifier was the author of an upset in the first round when she sent American Christina McHale packing in a three set thriller.

“It was a difficult match and the conditions were not easy today,” Schiavone said. “The ball kicks a lot on this courts here, so it´s quite challenging. The heat is also extreme, but I like to play on this conditions and I prepared well for that.”

Awaiting the Italian veteran in the semifinal is Petra Martic, who defeated Lara Arruabarrena 6-4, 5-7, 7-5.

“It´s going to be a very tough match because Martic plays really well, especially on surfaces where the ball kicks a lot, like it happens here in Rio,” Schiavone said of the dangerous Croatian who stunned No.1 seed Teliana Pereira in the first round. “She is also tall and is definitely going to use that. It´s going to be a challenge, but I think I´m ready

“Of course we have to take into account the fact that at the semifinals we are all ready. We all have 25% chance of getting the title.”